Workplace Leadership

What makes a great team tick? Leadership guru John C. Maxwell says the answer is simple: great players. In 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player, Maxwell teaches leaders how to develop better players and teaches each player how he or she can achieve true greatness from the inside out. Drawing on examples from some of history's most winning team players--including Quincy Jones, Ronald Reagan, and Bob Taylor--he shows readers how to develop qualities such as discipline, enthusiasm, communication, preparation, and commitment.

In this timely and essential guide, McKinsey alumni Gaurav Bhatnagar and Mark Minukas present a proven approach to workplace anxiety that reduces stress, boosts well-being, and overcomes blocks that get in the way of success. It begins with changing our relationship with fear and then developing strategies that improve outlook and performance, leading to greater profits, sustainable growth, and personal rewards. It’s only possible with a culture of unfear.

Helping is a fundamental human activity, but it can also be a frustrating one. All too often, to our bewilderment, our sincere offers of help are resented, resisted, or refused - and we often react the same way when people try to help us. Why is it so difficult to provide or accept help? How can we make the whole process easier?

Collaborative intelligence, or CQ, is a measure of our ability to think with others on behalf of what matters to us all. It is emerging as a new professional currency at a time when the way we think, interact, and innovate is shifting. In the past, "market share" companies ruled by hierarchy and top-down leadership. Today, the new market leaders are "mind share" companies, where influence is more important than power, and success relies on collaboration and the ability to inspire.

Is success simply a matter of money and talent? Or is there another reason why some people and organizations always land on their feet, while others, equally talented, stumble again and again? There’s a fundamental principle at work—the vital but previously unexamined factor called confidence—that permits unexpected people to achieve high levels of performance through routines that activate talent. Confidence is the new theory and practice of success, explaining why success and failure are not mere episodes but self-perpetuating trajectories

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, corporate America has doubled down on its public intentions to be more inclusive and equitable. Yet beyond the pledges it is difficult to see which system changes make a real difference. In From Intention to Impact, Malia Lazu draws on her background as a community organizer, her corporate career as a bank president, and now her experience as a leading DEI consultant to explain what has been holding organizations back and what they need to do better.

Leaders love to say that any company is only as good as its people but tend to evaluate candidates and employees more by their measurable accomplishments than by their "softer" qualities, like integrity, compassion, and other values. Best-selling author Anthony Tjan is leading a movement to change the way we think about goodness so that we can become better judges of people and create more goodness in ourselves, in others, and in our organizations.

A humorous yet practical five-step guide to ridding ourselves - and our companies - of the bureaucratic bottlenecks and red tape that plague every office.

The Mistakes That Make Us is a must-listen for those seeking to improve their organizations, with benefits such as lower turnover, more innovation, and better performance. Whether you're a startup founder or an aspiring leader, this book will inspire you to lead with kindness, humility, and the belief that learning from mistakes can make things right.

The Change Cycle offers a tested, six-stage approach for successfully navigating common work-life transitions so that you not only get through them but emerge stronger and better able to face the next challenge.

Gamer and commentator Jamie Madigan's fresh and pertinent new book shows how business leaders can promote a culture of productivity and innovation using gaming techniques and psychology. Just as games teach players to navigate a virtual "world", bosses teach employees to navigate the workplace by solving problems, cooperating with colleagues, and setting long-term goals. The application of video games has the potential to eliminate dreary offices in favor of more stimulating - and ultimately, more profitable - work environments. Look no further to level up your team!

What really sets the best managers above the rest? It's their power to build a cadre of employees who have great inner work lives—consistently positive emotions; strong motivation; and favorable perceptions of the organization, their work, and their colleagues. The worst managers undermine inner work life, often unwittingly.

In this conversational, humorous, and relatable book, Battah acts as a virtual mentor, drawing on his decades-long experience as advisor to large and small organizations. Through colorful and entertaining case studies ranging from fish-packing plants to financial institutions, Battah illustrates what it means to lead with humanity.

Red teaming. It is a practice as old as the Devil's Advocate, the 11th-century Vatican official charged with discrediting candidates for sainthood. Today, red teams - comprised primarily of fearless skeptics and those assuming the role of saboteurs who seek to better understand the interests, intentions, and capabilities of institutions or potential competitors - are used widely in both the public and private sector.

For decades, alarms have sounded about declining engagement. Yet companies continue to struggle with toxic cultures, and the low productivity and unhappiness that go with them. Why is "culture" so difficult to improve? What makes so many good employees check out? Neuroscientist Paul Zak shows that innate brain functions hold the answers. It all boils down to trust. When someone shows you trust, a feel-good jolt of oxytocin surges through your brain and triggers you to reciprocate.

After illustrating the global relevance of trust with his book The Speed of Trust by selling more than one million copies in 22 languages, Stephen M. R. Covey again illuminates the hidden power of trust to change lives and impact organizations in Smart Trust.

Over six years, long-time Sports Illustrated editor Don Yaeger was invited by some of the greatest companies in the world to speak about the habits of high-performing individuals. From Microsoft and Starbucks to the New England Patriots and San Antonio Spurs, what do some organizations do seemingly better than most of their opponents? Don identified 16 habits that drive high-performing teams. Building on stories, examples, and first-hand accounts, each chapter in Great Teams comes with applicable examples on how to apply these characteristics in any organization.

“I can’t wait to get to work!” When was the last time you felt that way? Have you ever? Mark McClain has and still does. He and his leadership teams have focused on creating companies that make the quality of their employees’ work experiences of equal importance to the quality of the solutions those employees create.

There are a host of neuroscientific explanations for why laughter makes us feel so great. Laughter triggers "feel good" chemicals in the brain which activate opiate receptors throughout your body and mind. Creating a workplace culture in which laughter is not only allowed but expected is an important step in building the trust, openness, authenticity, storytelling, and teamwork (TOAST) that are essential to any healthy collaborative environment.

In True North: Emerging Leaders Edition, renowned leadership expert Bill George and Millennial tech entrepreneur Zach Clayton issue the challenge to emerging leaders—from Gen X to Millennials and Gen Z—to lead their organizations authentically through never-ending crises to make this world a better place for everyone. This edition is filled with stories from successful leaders such as Merck's Ken Frazier to PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi, and emerging leaders like OneTrust's Kabir Barday on how they overcame great challenges to build highly successful organizations.